Two North Texas hospitals received shipments of medical supplies from China on Thursday, thanks to long-distance friendships and connections made through the American Paint Horse Association.
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital and Cook Children’s Medical Center, both in Fort Worth, Texas, each received a donation from a group of Paint Horse enthusiasts in China.
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital received 600 N95 respirators, 6,000 surgical masks, 32 pairs of eye-protection glasses and 64 surgical gowns. Cook Children’s Medical Center received 4,000 surgical masks, 64 pairs of glasses and 32 surgical gowns.
The group, which includes representatives from the China Horse Industry Association, AnPing County in Hebei Province, the AnPing County Equine Enterprise Directors Association, Ba Jun Heng Tong Equine Club and AnPing County Bao Ping Real Estate Development Company, was planning to visit APHA and the North Texas area in March — a trip that had to be postponed because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
APHA Member Michelle Wang of Plano, Texas, introduced the Chinese group to Paint Horses and the association during a trade mission to AnPing County in December. She played an integral role in getting the medical equipment from China into the hands of American healthcare providers as quickly as possible.
Michelle first approached APHA Executive Director Billy Smith on March 27 with the group’s desire to donate masks to the association. Since staff was planning to work from home during the outbreak, Smith selected two local hospitals so the protective gear could go where it was needed most.
Fort Worth, APHA’s home and host of both of APHA’s World Championship Shows, was a natural choice. BoZhan Wei, owner of Ba Jun Heng Tong Equine Club, coordinated the purchase of the medical supplies donated on behalf of APHA to the healthcare facilities. Two weeks later, the medical equipment was delivered.
APHA would like to thank our friends and donors in China:
- Meng Cai, vice president of China Horse Industry Association;
- Xun Zhang, vice-mayor of AnPing County;
- BoZhan Wei, secretary of AnPing County Equine Enterprise Directors Association and owner of Ba Jun Heng Ton Equine Club;
- Ping He, CEO of AnPing County Bao Ping Real Estate Development Company;
- Hebei Medical University No.2 Hospital AnPing Branch.
